Another year, another celebrity boxing match that nobody asked for. This time, it’s Dillon Danis stepping into the ring against KSI in the main event of a Misfits Boxing card on March 29 in Manchester, England. While the bout isn’t exactly generating excitement among MMA fans, one surprising UFC superstar will be tuning in with interest—Alex Pereira. The reigning light heavyweight champion has been training with Danis ahead of UFC 313, and when asked about the fight in a recent interview, Poatan played the role of a supportive teammate.
“I think it’s a good fight, you know, two big names. I trained with him today, and obviously, he’s a different weight, a different size than I am, and a different style as well. But he was doing very well,” Pereira said, his expression as stoic as ever.
And what about his prediction for KSI vs. Danis? While Pereira is backing his teammate, he did not throw his absolute weight behind the former Bellator fighter. “Yeah, you know, his training with us, and I’ll be rooting for him—I couldn’t say anything different. But I’ll be watching the fight and hope he wins,” Poatan added, keeping his expectations measured.
Danis has been drafted by Pereira to prepare him for his upcoming UFC 313 clash against Magomed Ankalaev on March 8. The Dagestani, of course, is the first real light heavyweight with a serviceable ground game that ‘Poatan’ will face since Jan Blachowicz in 2023. And because Danis is a BJJ black belt and has similarly helped Conor McGregor, the Brazilian has enlisted Danis to help sharpen his grappling. In fact, Pereira was himself dangerously close to fighting a celebrity boxer until he clarified things recently.
Alex Pereira clarifies stance on a possible Jake Paul fight
Last year, Jake Paul and Alex Pereira had a very acrimonious video call, where Paul challenged Pereira to a fight. “Let’s run it,” ‘The Problem Child’ could be heard saying. And ‘Poatan’ seemed game for it. “Chama. Let’s go,” Pereira and his translator replied. But, in a sigh of relief-worthy statement, the Brazilian has clarified that he doesn’t see Paul as a competitor at all.
“I think that was more for the media, for the hype. I don’t necessarily know if that makes a lot of sense. Maybe for an exhibition match or something like that. Honestly, I’m on another level. Granted, he is a boxer now. He’s a guy that trains boxing, but I just feel like I’m different, on a different level,” Pereira told ‘Bloody Elbow’ in a recent interview
Not that Pereira would be able to box Paul even if he wanted. The light heavyweight champ, after all, is signed to the UFC. And UFC CEO Dana White detests ‘The Problem Child’ and will never let the celebrity boxer make any money off of one of his fighters. Not to mention Pereira has bigger fish to fry.
Unified heavyweight boxing champ, Oleksandr Usyk, has recently expressed interest in boxing ‘Poatan’ as his farewell fight. This is certainly an attempt to cash in an amount that the bout between Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor did. In millions for both the Irishman and 50-0 undefeated ‘Money’! If Pereira does want to box, the Ukrainian legend has him covered. This means that Paul’s services will probably not be required by ‘Poatan’ for the time being.
At least for now. Fifteen years from now, when Pereira is in his fifties, he will have a much better profile for a Jake Paul contest and we may finally get the vaunted Pereira-Paul boxing match. What do you think about Alex Pereira’s take on the KSI vs. Dillon Danis fight?
The post Alex Pereira Is ‘Rooting’ for His Clear Favorite for KSI vs. Dillon Danis Boxing Bout appeared first on EssentiallySports.
